Arrest warrant issued for VP Sara Duterte over 'kill' threat

MANILA, Philippines — An arrest warrant has been issued for Vice President Sara Duterte for grave threats, a case stemming from her alleged remarks during an online press conference in November 2024. The Department of Justice (DOJ) had earlier filed a complaint for grave threats against her. The case originated from statements Duterte made during an online press conference on November 23, 2024. She allegedly cursed at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, who was then House speaker. Duterte said she had contracted a hit man to kill the Marcos couple and Romualdez should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. "Don’t worry about my safety," she said during the online press conference. Duterte made the threat from a room at the House of Representatives, where her chief of staff, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, was detained after she was cited for contempt over her evasive answers during the investigation into Duterte’s alleged fund misuse. "This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar," she said. "I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Bongbong Marcos), Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez," Duterte said in Filipino. "No joke. No joke," she said. Duterte added: "I said, do not stop until you kill them and he said yes." The case, for violation of Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code on grave threats in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, was filed before the Quezon City RTC on August 11. The crime of grave threats penalizes statements that create real and imminent danger to specific persons, regardless of whether actual harm will take place. Bail is set at P120,000. A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official earlier told the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, that Duterte’s threats against the first couple and Romualdez were “serious, real, and actual.” “To me, as the chief investigator at that time, the utterances made by the vice president was serious, and the threat was real and actual,” Lotoc said, referring to the report he wrote when the NBI investigated Duterte’s press conference. He said: “We considered the content of context of the utterances made by the Vice President in Nov. 23, 2024, as well as the utterances made by the vice president on Oct. 18, 2024, and the reactions from the recipients as well as reactions from several government agencies.” Duterte is also facing an impeachment trial before the Senate over several allegations, including grave threats against the first family and Romualdez. /dm